


Because of the Shame

by linknealgotdabooty (MissCGiggles)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Divorce, Flashbacks, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, We're in 2016, Weatherman Link, Youtuber Rhett
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-21 03:45:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14276223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCGiggles/pseuds/linknealgotdabooty
Summary: Rhett let out a sigh, the divorce papers lay in front of him ready to be signed. This was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Well, the second hardest thing, really.Rhett and Link haven't seen each other in 20 years. Rhett moves back to NC where his old best friend and love still lives. The place brings back many memories of a different time. Can old ties be rekindled after so long?





	1. The move

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first multi chapter story, I'm excited and scared!  
> I hope to be able to update once a week.

Rhett let out a sigh, the divorce papers lay in front of him ready to be signed. This was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Well, the second hardest thing, really, but it hadn't been fair of Rhett to marry Jessie in the first place. Not when she'd never truly had his whole heart. 

He loved her still and had thoroughly enjoyed their time together; he certainly didn’t regret it, not when she had graced his life with two wonderful sons. But to be married to someone who would always love someone else had taken its toll on Jessie and ultimately their marriage. She'd finally had enough of Rhett’s stunted emotions and had applied to a design school and moved back to Carolina. She’d gotten in, of course. She was brilliant, and she left Rhett in her dust. 

And sure he'd miss her, she had been his comfort for fifteen years, but he understood. He wouldn't have wanted to live with his grumpy ass and his obsessive watching of late night weather forecasts either. 

He picked up the pen and signed his full name, Rhett James McLaughlin, several times on the document, put it all into the envelope provided, and sealed it. Another life lay ahead of him, and he was scared shitless.  


* * *

Rhett lifted the final box of off the U-Haul truck. He walked into the small house and put the box on top of the stack already standing in the middle of the living room. He surveyed the pile; there wasn’t a lot. He’d let Jessie keep most of the furniture, so the place was very empty. He needed to go the Mattress Firm today if he didn’t want to sleep on the floor, but first, he decided to do something he had been dreading. He had to film a video for all the loyal people who followed him on Youtube, his fans The McLaughClan. They counted on at least one video per week from him. He had to tell them about the changes in his life, even if the thought made his stomach tie in knots. Talking about it publicly only made it feel more real, but it was real he thought, so he might as well do it. 

He dug through boxes, pulling out random stuff from his former studio and eventually found the camera and his tripod. He meticulously set it up in front of the big windows in the back of the living room. He didn’t have the energy to find his lights and set them up right now, so he decided he would wait and set them up in the spare room later. He found an old flip chair he had brought from the old house and sat down. He ended up with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands; it was hard doing this. He let out a sigh, a twinge went through his back from the awkward position in the old chair, so he straightened his back again and turned on the camera. After another deep sigh, he pressed record and started talking into the camera.

“Hi guys, I’m back after my two-week break from posting videos. I told you guys last time that some big changes were happening in my life and now they’ve happened,” He had a tense smile on his face. 

”I’m sitting here in an empty living room, as I’m sure you can see from the background, and it’s that empty because I moved,” He scratched through his beard; this was hard talking about, but he continued.

“Today is just going to be a vlog video, no crazy food or life hacks today. I’m just gonna be talking to you about the changes in my life,” He let his hands curl through his hair in a practised move. 

“I’ve moved back to NC alone. Well, Jessie and the boys have moved back here as well, but they don’t live with me,” He drew in a deep breath before continuing, “I got a divorce, guys. Jessie wanted a divorce, and I don’t blame her,” A tense laugh escaped him. 

“I’ve been a mess for a long time and Jessie was a blessing, I’m amazed that she stayed with me as long as she did, and I’m so thankful for the years I had with her. Now it’s onto different things here in NC,” Rhett rubbed his hands on his jeans as he collected his thoughts before starting again.

“Being back here brings back a lot of memories, and a lot of you guys have asked for stories about my childhood and high school years, so that’s what I will be telling you about this week.  
It’s not all going to be pleasant, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. It’s going to be multiple videos, so you’re not getting everything today,” Rhett looked away from the camera into the garden and sat there quiet for breath. His gaze shifted to the boxes. 

“Alright, let me just get something.” Rhett got up and rummaged through one of the boxes, and came back to the camera a little while later, holding an old envelope in his hands. 

He rummaged around for a while until he found what he was looking for, pulling out an old photo and holding it up to the camera. It was a picture of two boys in their early teens, standing next to each other, they were both wearing big t-shirts and shorts, the taller of the two looking at the camera, while the other was looking away in the picture.

“This tall kid right there,” He pointed at the taller boy in the picture, “That’s me, and that other lanky kid, that’s Link.” Rhett pointed to the other darker haired boy in the picture, “Link was my best friend growing up. We spent almost every day together in elementary, middle, and high school and we did lots of stupid shit together.” A fond smile came to his face as he looked at the old picture of him and Link.

“Link was a geeky, silly kid who smiled too much and let me rope him into a lot of stupid stuff during those years.” Rhett looked out through the window again. “We spent countless afternoons together in an old cow pasture, some miles from where I am right now, and we spent so much time there chasing cows and sitting on the big rocks there talking to each other about anything.” He took a long breath before continuing. “We even made a blood oath once. We were quite ridiculous back then.”

* * *

_Summer 1993_

_The two boys were sitting in the tall grass in the cow pasture, tired after having chased the cows around for half an hour. Rhett looked at his companion and felt a sense of serenity sitting here beside him. They had been here countless times chasing the cows and talking for hours about the future and everything going on in their lives, but every time felt special._

_Today was a quiet day for Link though, he was introspective, and Rhett was eager to get a conversation with his best friend going._

_“Link how much do you wanna bet that I can climb up to that branch right there in less than 1 minute?” Rhett gestured to the branch in question, a hopeful look in his eyes, wanting Link to be in on the game._

_Link glanced up at the tree, but ignored the question, deciding instead to look over at the cows grazing nearby._

_“Rhett, what’s gonna happen to us after we graduate high school?” Link interjected. He was still looking towards the cows and had a faraway look in his blue eyes._

_Rhett looked back at his friend. He could see the seriousness etched on Link’s face, he was genuinely concerned, and Rhett wanted to take the doubt away from him. Reassure him of whatever was haunting him._

_“You and me are gonna stay together Link, we’re gonna do something together, something great, something no one else has done before.” Rhett grabbed a few pieces of the tall grass inspecting them intensely while continuing; the words were laced with as much sincerity as Rhett could manage, “You and me together, we’re gonna make movies and do all the stuff we’ve talked about, we’re gonna do something great Link.” Rhett had a determined look on his face and was leaning closer to Link, towards him to show his sincerity._

_Link looked straight back at his friend’s face, his blue eyes piercing right through Rhett._

_“You promise, Rhett?” His eyes were so big and blue at that moment, Rhett could feel how Link yearned for security._

_“Yeah, Link. I promise,” Rhett gazed at the ground and snapped his head up as the idea came to him._

_“Hey, you know what…” He looked around in the grass searching for Link’s backpack, “You got any paper in you pack?” He asked, and finally located it, pulling the pack to his lap._

_“Yeah, there should be some in there.” Link answered, and Rhett was already rummaging through it and came up victorious, waving the paper around, before going in again for a pen._

_“We’re going to make a contract Link, and we’ll write it down, promise it to each other.” Rhett replied as he was writing down while Link watched._

_Ten minutes later, the two boys had identical cuts in their palms, and each had a piece of paper in his pocket promising to do great things in the future. They had signed in blood and shook on it. Link’s bright smile was in place again, and the boys were back at chasing the cows, with a new sense of energy in their steps and a thousand thoughts about the future that lay ahead of them._

* * *

 

Rhett was fondly looking at the picture of him and Link, as he finished the story for the camera. He focused on looking into the lens again and continued, “Yeah. Me and Link did some crazy stuff together, we had dreams out the butt, and we spent so much time together during our teens. We were ready to take on the world.” Rhett touched the photo rubbing his finger against the young Link in the picture . 

“Link was extremely important in my life as a kid. I haven’t seen the guy since high school though, but he was super important to me.” Rhett didn't want to disclose too much in this first video, it was going to take a few videos to explain everything. 

“So that's all you're getting today. But maybe I’ll go out and see if I can find the pasture and bring my camera one of the next few days, so you guys can see where it all happened.” He smiled at the camera.

“I'll do multiple videos this week, so I'll be back soon and tell you more about my childhood. Bye guys.” Rhett waved at the camera and shut it off. He needed to get that mattress and some more essential stuff for the bedroom.

* * *

Later when he was back at the house and had a brand new bed, a lot of new kitchen utensils, and most of his furniture put into place, he sat down and edited the video. As he was looking at his own expressions on the screen, he was floored at the longing look in his own eyes while watching the photo. People didn't have to be geniuses to figure out that Link had been important to Rhett. He would wait to tell everything though, might as well get some views out of his bad luck in his teens. 

As he was getting finished editing, Rhett noticed the time. It was almost 8 pm, time for him to turn on the TV and get to the most pleasant part of his day. 

He turned on the local news channel just in time for the weather report to start, he could feel tension in his diaphragm from excitement. 

The news person was making the segway to the weather report, “And now to tell us about the weather for the next few days, here is Link.”

They switched to a screen with a map on it, in front stood a dark-haired man, his hair was cut shorter on the sides and swooped a bit on top, and he was wearing dark roundish glasses. He had a thin mustache right under his nose, and his cheeks were a bit rounder than the rest of his slim face. He had a slim body, and was wearing a blazer jacket, but with a weather-inspired t-shirt underneath as well as dark jeans. 

Even though he didn't at all resemble the guy Rhett had known in high school - his hair was very different, he was more rugged, and he was wearing glasses it was unmistakably still Link. He had the same mannerisms and moved his hands in the same out of control way as he had done back then, and his eyes were just as blue.

He was telling the camera about the storm front coming through in the next few days, but Rhett really couldn't care less about the storm front. He just wanted to get a glimpse of how Link was looking today. He was absentmindedly rubbing the small tattoo on his left ribs. 

He just wanted his five minutes of self-indulgence that he had partaken in, in the last four years, while Link had been a weatherman. He wanted to feel that swoop in his tummy and feel the smile come on his face. He wanted to admire the man he hadn't seen in twenty years. He just wanted to look at Link and his brilliant smile and think back to simpler times when he had been so happy with him by his side.

After the segment ended, Rhett could still feel a smile on his face. It was good to get this little glimpse of Link most days. He set his laptop aside and walked to the bedroom. A lamp was sitting on the floor next to the stripped bed, and he spent some time arranging the bedding and putting on a new sheet.

As he got into the bed, he thought about being back in North Carolina. He was so close to where he had spent so much time with Link until they had been separated. He hoped that Link was happy, happier than Rhett had been in his own life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot to mythicalmonochrome and thefrenchmaidoutfit on Tumblr for helping me out!!!


	2. The shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been more than a week, but here it is.  
> I've updated the tags, be sure to check.

Link woke up at seven in the morning most days. Today was no different despite the fact that it was one of his days off. He had to make sure his two teenagers made it out the door and to school on time. He rolled onto his side and grazed his two animal companions who, despite his better judgement, shared his bed. His movements had woken them and he could feel them moving around under the blankets. He barely had enough time to blink before he had a small poof of white fur in his face, licking his face, she was ready for them to get up. Another cold snout was stuck under his arm wanting to get pet, it was their morning routine. He spent a few minutes trying to wrangle the two excited dogs and eventually managed to get up.

After relieving himself in the bathroom, Link opened the bedroom door and shouted back at the dogs who had hopped back on the bed.

“Alright girls, let’s go! Out to pee!” He spoke to them in a happy trill. The little white poof and her sleek brown friend eagerly followed him out of the bedroom.

They ran happily beside him into the kitchen and stood by the door eagerly waiting to be let out. When they were sent outside he noticed his son slumped over the kitchen island with a spoon of cereal halfway to his mouth, and a textbook opened next to him. He was intensely reading and seemed to have forgotten about his meal. 

“Lincoln, are you doing your homework right now?”

The thirteen-year-old boy lifted his head up and focused on his dad, “Uhm yeah, I have a test today, and I might have… forgot to study.” He had a sheepish expression on his face. 

Link shook his head a bit and sat down next to him, “Alright, let me help you.”

Link felt guilty about not noticing that Lincoln needed help, but trying to raise two kids on his own for the last five years had not been easy; sometimes things slipped past him. 

They spent half an hour trying to get Lincoln reacquainted with the subject. Lincoln had never been terribly fond of math, but he was doing fine normally, he knew most of it already. He wasn’t completely clueless. He was a smart kid, Link knew this. 

When they had gone through the most important subjects, Lincoln’s fifteen-year-old sister emerged. Izzy found a bowl and sat down, immediately stuffing food in her face. Their school bus would be there soon; she had to make haste. 

When Link waved the kids goodbye twenty minutes later, he now had the house to himself, and began tidying the place up.  
The two dogs were lounging in a spot of sunlight in the middle of the floor, getting their morning nap after breakfast. Link envied their freedom of napping whenever they felt like it. 

The house looked like a mess with two teens, two dogs and only one adult there to take care of it all, but they had managed until now. Link had a housekeeper come and help once a week to clean everything thoroughly, but he liked to do what he could himself when he had the time. He loved taking care of his little family, and he wanted to do most things himself, even if help was relatively close by.

Izzy was a lot Like Link, she enjoyed systems and had always kept her toys in a neat arrangement, so usually her spaces were not as cluttered as her brother’s. She had inherited traits from Link in several areas, she looked a lot Like Link with inky brown hair, a face shape similar to his, only her eyes weren’t as deep set, but were just as blue.

Both children had inherited Link’s blue eyes, but where Izzy was darker, Lincoln was fair, his hair was light brown, almost blonde like his mother’s and his skin never tanned in the sun as quickly as Link’s own or Izzy’s. Lincoln was a lot more like his mother in many ways, he didn’t seem to have the same anxious look on the world as Link did.

Link adored his two children and even though they had come early in his life, and it had been hard at first, he never regretted it. In college, Link and his girlfriend at the time, Julia, had lived in Raleigh, but during the last year of college Isabell, or Izzy, as they called her, had been conceived. 

With them growing up in North Carolina, it was expected of them to be married before children and Link had already asked Julia to marry him the year before, but with a busy college schedule they had at first decided to wait until after college. Those plans had changed with Izzy, and they had a quick beautiful wedding their final year of college and moved straight to Lillington, where Izzy had been born. They were closer to family and the help they needed to take care of a newborn in Lillington.

Five years ago when Julia died, it had been a devastating blow to all of them, he had been so grateful to live so close to his family, and had more than enough help from them, but driving to Raleigh every day for work when you were a single parent was too much, so he relocated himself and the kids to Apex; it was closer to work, but not too far away from extended family. The perfect balance. 

They had lived here for three years now. It had been the right decision for the family to move away from all of those painful memories. They still missed Julia every day, but the distance from their old home made it somewhat easier for them all.

Julia had become Link’s girlfriend during the last year of high school, she had in part patched up the pieces of his broken heart. They had both gone to NC State, Link getting a degree in meteorology and Julia getting a degree in English. 

She brought joy to his life and gave him two children, and it had been good, until it hadn’t. The sickness came quick and then she was gone. Friends and family helped the little family of three through.  
They were doing alright, Link was alright, not great, but alright. After a few years he had started exploring himself as a person on his own, he had grown that mustache he had always wanted, which Julia had not liked. He had cut his hair after getting the weather position at WRAL four years prior. He looked like a much different man now at thirty-seven. He was happy with his little family, but something was missing and he tried to go about his life as best as he could.

Link tidied up, did laundry and walked the girls. He hadn’t really wanted a dog, let alone two, but the kids had pestered him incessantly to get one, and he had finally caved a year ago. They had gone to the shelter and fallen in love with the little brown dachshund mix named Jade. When they had tried adopting her, a little white fluffball named Barbara had been very distressed as her friend was taken away, and it had broken Izzy’s heart. So they had taken two dogs home instead of just one. 

Now, he didn’t know how he had lived without these girls in his life, they gave him unconditional love and so much emotional comfort; he loved those two dogs, even if they had peed on everything at first. 

They were currently zooming around the designated dog enclosure at the park, where they were free to roam. They were playing with a few other dogs, but it was mostly just the two of them.

While Link stood there watching the dogs, his phone vibrated in his pocket with a notification.  
It was a text from his colleague Aimee.

Aimee: Hey Link, hope you’re having a great day off. You should watch the entertainment segment tonight, I think you will enjoy it. Hugs from Aimee. 

Link and Aimee had been getting friendly the last few years of working together, so it wasn’t unusual for her to be texting him, but usually she didn’t leave a cryptic message like this. 

Just as he was getting ready to reply to her, another message ticked in. It was Izzy. She was coming home early after classes being cancelled at the high school. 

Link rounded up the two dogs and began the trek home, excited to enjoy some quality time with his eldest child. It was tough to find time with a highschool student’s busy schedule.

* * *

After spending a nice afternoon together baking and Izzy helping Link with his still struggling cooking adventures, Link had completely forgotten about the text from Aimee and had never replied.

The whole family sat down and ate dinner together, Link tried to have the family gathered together for at least one meal a day, it was important for him to give the kids stability and to make them feel like they were a normal family, even if one important person was missing from their midst.

After eating, the kids had their chores, consisting of helping each other clean the table and filling the dishwasher. 

While the kids worked on their chores, Link sat down and put on the news channel to absentmindedly see what the world and his colleagues had been up to today. 

Link was in a stupor, half listening while scrolling through his phone, until he was abruptly brought back to the present by the presenter saying a name he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“And to news of the entertainment variety, we seem to have the very popular YouTuber, Rhett McLaughlin back here in North Carolina.” They were showing a picture of Rhett on the screen. “Rhett grew up here in NC from the ages of five to eighteen. His parents still live in our great state and it seems that Rhett have moved back to be closer to his roots as well. Rhett has several viral videos on the internet and hopefully he will make some more here from our beautiful state.”

The segment continued with several clips from videos Rhett had made. 

Link was frozen in place as he stared at the screen. A stream of memories going through his head at the image. He had no idea that Rhett was on YouTube. He hadn’t seen the man’s face in twenty years. His blond hair was longer, sticking up from his head reminiscent of an upside down broom. He had grown a beard, his voice was deeper and he had filled out to be a lot more muscular than the beanstalk that Link had known in high school.

Looking at the face of his old friend, had many different emotions run through Link: sadness, giddiness, joy, he felt like a million butterflies had taken residence in his stomach and a lump formed in his throat. It was amazing how by just looking at Rhett, his body was still affected. He had tried not to think too much about the other man as the years went by, so seeing him like this was a shock to his system. 

After the segment ended, Link sat there staring into nothingness for a while. 

Rhett had moved back to the state. Of course he knew that Rhett’s parents were still around, but he had never seen Rhett once since that day back in highschool. Link didn’t know what to do with himself upon hearing the news. He felt both restless, energy spreading through his body and a clench of sadness in his soul that weighed him down.

He eventually got up from the couch. He got through the night in a haze and made sure that his two teenagers were in their beds by 10pm, and finally went to bed himself. 

The dogs were snuggled around his legs, but he had trouble falling asleep, thoughts of Rhett racing through his head. His phone disturbed his thoughts as it chirped with a notification, It was Aimee.

Aimee: Did you watch the segment? You never answered me. 

Link stared at the phone for a little while, he was confused how she had known about him knowing Rhett, he had never talked to her about him. 

Link answered her anyway.

Link: Yes I did, sorry that I forgot to text you back, Izzy came home early from school and I got distracted. How did you even know that I know Rhett? 

He didn’t have to wait long for a reply.

Aimee: Go find his newest video on Youtube. His channel is just called Rhett McLaughlin.

Link had already contemplated watching some of Rhett’s videos, he was nervous at the thought, but he had to know more, and now his curiosity was even more piqued.

He found YouTube app on his phone. He searched for Rhett McLaughlin, and seconds later he was face to face with Rhett’s most recent video called: Back in NC.

Link hesitated, but hit the icon in the end, waiting with bated breath until the video started a few seconds later.

Rhett was right there on his screen in all his glory. Bushy beard and his hair in disarray, his hair was still going up, but it was more curly and unkempt, he looked like a beautiful lion. His hair was glistening in the sunshine coming in through the window he was sitting by and Link forgot to pay attention to what Rhett was saying, he was so mesmerised by the beautiful man on the screen. 

Link tuned into what Rhett was saying, he was talking about being back in NC and apparently being divorced. Hearing that made a little swoop of joy run through him, but he was immediately ashamed by the feeling. He wanted Rhett to be happy and they had both been forced to move on long ago, but still a small part of him didn’t want anyone else to be with Rhett.

Link had a soft smile on his face as he continued watching the video of his former best friend. 

Rhett was talking about how being back in NC brought back many memories. When Rhett brought out an envelope and showed a picture of himself and Link, Link could feel his heart starting to race. So that’s how Aimee had known.

He gulped as he listened to Rhett tell the story of how they had made a blood oath in that old cow pasture in Buies Creek. Link was thrown back in time, remembering everything they had done back then. 

He absentmindedly let his hand move to the left side of his ribs where a small tattoo was hidden, he let his fingertips move over the slightly raised skin as he thought about the past. He thought about all the stupid things they had done in their teens. They had even once made their own wine and brought it out to the river to taste it. Link could still remember the feeling of lying next to Rhett on the edge of the Cape Fear river.

* * *

 

_Summer 1994_

_Link hauled their sleeping bags out of the back of his truck. He had just gotten his license and had gotten the red 1987 Nissan truck along with it. It was perfect for excursions like this._

_He grabbed the sleeping bags and his duffel and Rhett grabbed the big bottle of wine and his own sleeping bag._

_They had found a nice place along the river, where they weren’t likely to be disturbed and walked there at a brisk pace, where a sandy patch next to the river was beckoning them._

_They had gotten the recipe to the wine from their classmate Jeff, and had spent weeks waiting for the concoction of strawberries, banana and sugar to be ready. They had hidden it on top of the AC unit in Rhett’s house, the alcohol smell had gotten stronger and stronger, and when it had looked to be done, Rhett had filtered the wine and called Link to make plans to drink it._

_Those plans had led them there to the bank of the Cape Fear river. They laid out the sleeping bags next to each other and sat down in the waning sunlight._

_Rhett had sat the bottle down between them and glanced down at the browny liquid. They were both nervous at what was going to happen when they tried it. Link was a worrier and Jeff said that if done wrong they could go blind. He definitely didn’t want that to happen._

_They sat in silence listening to the sounds of the flowing river as the sun slowly fell. Rhett broke the silence and started talking about a girl he had set his eyes on this summer. Joanna Turner. She was tall and blond and Link didn’t like her, but he never told Rhett this. He just pretended to listen while Rhett chatted excitedly about asking her out._

_“...And then I’m gonna take her to get some chicken and maybe stop somewhere nice to look at nature and then I’m gonna make my move…”_

_“Rhett,” Link interrupted, he smiled at his friend, “Open the freaking wine.”_

_Rhett looked a bit perturbed at being interrupted right when he was getting to the good part, but nevertheless reached down for the bottle and twisted off the cap of the old soda bottle._

_The smell of fermented strawberries filled the air between them causing Link to cough at the strong smell. Rhett offered the bottle to his friend first, but with a horror stricken expression Link muttered, “You first.” and watched as Rhett resolutely put the bottle to his mouth and took the first gulp. It wasn’t easy to get down, it smelled of rotten strawberries and it also tasted just like that. Rhett passed the bottle to Link who after a little while of checking Rhett’s reaction, finally lifted the bottle as well and sipped at the concoction._

_After having passed the bottle back and forth several times in silence, Rhett capped the drink. “This is horrible.” he said, a grimace on his face as he laid down on his back to look at the stars starting to poke out in the evening sky. Link followed his friend and laid back as well, they were both quiet for minutes until suddenly Link started giggling. He had an arm thrown over his eyes and the giggles shook his whole body._

_“We made wine man,” he finally managed to say as he kept laughing._

_“I feel all fuzzy.” He was still giggling, and Rhett couldn’t help start giggling too as he looked over at his friend._

_Link was full on laughing now. He felt like he was floating and he needed an anchor, so he moved his hand to get a hold of Rhett, and managed to find the other boy’s hand. He clasped the other hand tightly, and their fingers tangled together. They both laughed for a while, on a high from their somewhat successful endeavor and from the alcohol flowing through their bodies._

_The laughing slowly subsided and Rhett noticed the tight grip on his hand, their fingers entwined._

_“Link,” He started hesitantly, “Why are we holding hands?”_

_“I need you right now Rhett, I don’t wanna fly away.” Link slurred his words together._

_Rhett felt Link squeeze his hand softly. It wasn’t a bad sensation holding Link’s warm hand in his. They had never done this before, but he kind of liked it and in his drunken state, he let himself enjoy the moment._

_“I’ve got you. bo,” Rhett answered, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”_

_Link smiled behind his arm over his face. As long as he had Rhett everything would be alright, Joanna or no Joanna. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and thanks a lot to mythicalmonochrome and thefrenchmaidoutfit on Tumblr for helping me out!!!


End file.
